Sweetie—landmarks of her life.

Born 17 April 2003 in New Delhi, India—Cookie, a stray I used to feed came inside and had four kitties on a suitcase under my bed.
I kept a window open, and Cookie took care of them.
When they could walk and run I put them on the terrace, but they still came in at times.
In March 2004, Sweetie was missing for some days. I found her on the road trying to crawl back home. Her back legs were paralysed. On the same day her brother Snowy disappeared. They were good friends
I brought her upstairs and she became an indoor cat. I closed the window, and made her a small makeshift terrace enclosure. She was happy inside and slowly recovered.Before that she lost two premature kittens. She had hanging skin below her stomach, and a slight limp, otherwise could walk and soon could jump as before.
Minty joined us as an indoor cat on 10 September 2011—a kitten I just had to rescue. Despite my best efforts Sweetie never liked her, so I made sure Minty did not trouble her. Sweetie remained my constant companion, Minty in another room.
During these years we made frequent trips to Dehradun to visit my mother. We went by taxi, and though not a long distance, it took 7 or more hours because of the traffic. Sweetie was a very good girl on all these trips, uncomplainingly staying in one room with me on our visits there. With Minty as a second cat it was a problem, Minty had to stay in the bathroom. Of course, both did have a run around the house at times. In 2012 we made nine trips there. After my mother passed away, we moved to Dehradun.
Sweetie was depressed so I got a beautiful terrace enclosure made for her 10th birthday. It was attached to my bedroom, she could go in and out as she liked, and she loved it.[There are pictures of it in the post below]
Even in her final days, she sat there all day in the sun, with me sitting near her. She had stopped eating, but started again, then once again declined, though she ate a little bit even on the last day. She was weak but could still walk and jump on the chair or bed by herself
She usually slept in my bed, with her head on my shoulder and her paw on my arm, but for a few days she hadn’t been doing that. On 2nd night she went to sleep at the foot of the bed. Around 2 am she came up and put her head on my shoulder and paw on my arm. I held her close. At 4.30 am she gave two or three small coughs and then she was gone to the other world.
A small grave was dug for her in the back garden. My neighbour came and said some prayers, and read from the Guru Granth Sahib for twenty minutes. A deeply spiritual man, he said that a cat’s soul is no different from that of a human.
It was 3 March 2016.

Sweetie's very own enclosure

When we moved to Dehradun, almost three years ago, Sweetie was depressed. So for her 10th birthday, she got her very own terrace enclosure. She doesn't like other cats and no other cat is allowed there. The enclosure is attached to my bedroom, also her exclusive space, and she can go out and come in as she likes.She loves sitting outside, surveying the world beyond, and basking in the sun. But she is not too keen on the monkeys, who sometimes look in!
Some pics below:

The cat and the mosquito checker

As everyone in India knows, many people here don't particularly like cats. They are superstitious about them, and keeping cats as pets is a relatively new phenomenon. But just keeping a cat leads to a change in approach of all who come in contact with it. Sweetie met many people who visited my house--friends, electricians, plumbers, and several others. She hissed ferociously at some, scratched one or two, made friends occasionally[very rare--I actually employed a packer because Sweetie went and sat on their representative's lap]and ignored others.
Among the latter was the MCD mosquito checker, who arrives every monsoon in Delhi to check that there are no mosquitoes breeding in the water coolers [there are mosquito courts where one has to pay a fine if they find any!]. After checking, he puts some poisonous stuff in the water.
I wouldn't let him do this to one cooler, as I said my cat may get affected. Cat? He wanted to see it,and I showed him Sweetie asleep on the bed. 'You have a cat on your bed?', he couldn't get over it, but after that used to ask about her whenever he came.
One day the doorbell, rang, and there was S, the mosquito checker. 'You just came a couple of weeks ago', I said. 'It's not about that', he said, 'Have you lost a cat?' 'No', I replied. 'There's one in our office. It won't leave, please come and see', he said. I took a cat carrier with me, and we reached his office, just a two minute walk away. Sure enough, a large orange cat was sitting in a high-walled courtyard, where the workers were eating their home-packed lunch. 'I told them they should not harm it, but should feed it', said S. Orange cat was happily eating all the scraps of food that were being thrown to him. But now S and the others felt I should put him in the carrier and take him home! I tried to explain he wasn't my cat--he would go back to wherever he had come from. 'He can't jump these high walls', said S, so I agreed to take him. The carrier was placed on the ground, tempting food was put into it, and the cat soon put his nose and front paws in. An over-enthusiastic worker then gave him a push from the back. Cat hissed, snarled, turned around and was out of the carrier,still hissing, and as everyone moved back,he gave a smooth leap to the top of the high wall and disappeared. By the time we went out to see where he had gone, there was no sign of him.
I was sure he was okay, but I thought that not only S, but all the workers there, had become a little more cat-friendly.

Remembering Sweetie’s visit to the vet

I just read an article about a rise in lost cats, because of their carriers breaking. I was reminded of when Sweetie’s carrier broke.
Sweetie is 12 years old, but her last visit to the vet was when she was six. This was in another city, and it was so traumatic [for me at least!] that I decided not to take her again.
The problem was not that Sweetie escaped, but that she refused to get out of her carrier. She retreated to the furthest point, and braced her feet in the corners, so that no one could pull her out. When neither I nor the vet’s assistants could budge her, they decided to unscrew the top of the carrier--but in the process the carrier broke! I had to hang on to her by her fur. We had come in a taxi, and getting her back home in a broken carrier was a real problem. The carrier was somehow tied up in string. Now Sweetie, when she wants can open some carriers, and even chew through them, and is so strong that no one can hold her. Fortunately I managed to get her home safely, and she has never been to the vet again, though one has visited her at home. After that, whenever we had to travel, she was on a harness and in a double carrier, that is, a smaller one inside a larger one. If one breaks or opens, there is a second carrier for safety.

Sweetie--through pictures

My cat companions

Indoor cats:
Sweetie: most precious, beautiful grey and white girl, 12 years old.

Minty: 4 years old, a calico cat who meows a lot and is a bit crazy, but loves to cuddle and sit on my lap.

Outside cats:Muffin: two year old female tabby. She likes to roam and is very good at catching mice, birds, etc. These days she is not keen on roaming, probably scared by a dog next door, and to some extent by Pixie [rescued dog] in the front garden, and by a large tom cat.
Mitzi: one year old female. She wants to come in, but unfortunately gets into terrible fights with Minty. Muffin and Mitzi have the same mother, who stays nearby.
Mini and Maxi: twin boys, 9 months old, sons of Muffin,.
Nandu: black woolly boy, nine months old, but bigger and fatter than all the others. Very good natured and loving, but bullies the other cats.
Ashi: black female, nine months old, loves to play, and to eat. Bites if she gets angry!

Hug Your Cat Day

Hug Your Cat Day was on 4 June. It is primarily celebrated in North America and Europe. Alternative days for its celebration are 3 May and 30 May. It is meant to remind people of the benefits of living with cats.
Can we start a special ‘hug your cat day’ in India?
Some rules---Do not hug a cat you are not familiar with. Regarding your own cat, you will know whether or not it likes being hugged. Of my two indoor cats, Sweetie has to be in the right mood, Minty loves being hugged. Of the outdoor ones, I can try it with Mitzi for a short time. Nandu loves it, but gets really boisterous.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A recipe for a special treat of cookies for your cat. [I found it on the internet, but modified it slightly].
Mix mashed sardines with a small amount of milk powder and flour, shape them into balls, flatten, and bake! [This is only for a treat, and not for everyday. More on appropriate food later. ]